Greek Replication

In the morning, Neal was getting ready for work when he heard a disturbance downstairs. Although it wasn't loud, there was something wrong.

Dressed in his slacks and undershirt, Neal was drying his hair a little further so he dropped the towel down around his neck and slipped out his door. Walking quietly down the stairs, he paused often and continued to listen to the sounds as he tried to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from.

Reaching the main floor, he continued to follow the noise until he found June and her family gathered around with a vase in June's hand.

Seeing no imminent threat, he let his guard down a little bit. "What is going on? I heard the commotion all the way upstairs." He was mostly focused on June as the center of attention, but his peripheral continued to keep tabs on the rest of the family.

"A vase of mine appears to have faded, but it was specially glazed to avoid that," June explained.

Frowning, Neal wondered why it was such an issue. Was it an heirloom, valuable, or just something sentimental from Byron? The best way to understand was to see the problem hands on. "May I?" He asked June.

Hesitating for a moment, June seemed to be reluctant to hand it over. Then she seemed to think better of it and gave him permission to inspect it. He was the resident art expert after all.

Carrying it over to the nearest table, Neal began his preliminary investigation into what was wrong with the vase.

First, he flipped it and looked at the artist's name on the bottom. Reading Diego Athanasiou, he knew the vase was valuable, which was likely part of the concern, but something about the famous name didn't look right. Keeping the detail in mind, he mulled over the likely causes while turning it for better lighting.

Moving on the edge of the bottom, he compared the unexposed bottom of the vase to the front, and then to the exposed back. The rear had obviously been the side to face the window and receive the sunlight, which would normally explain the fading, but then Athanasiou took extra care to ensure his work was protected from UV ray light as best as possible. That extra protection was just part of what made his work so expensive and valuable.

Having completed his initial observation, he pulled out his phone and took pictures to document his findings.

Finally, he asked for a paint sample. "Do you mind if I scrape a little off of the bottom for testing?"

Giving her permission, June had been afraid of his conclusion. "It is a forgery, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid it looks like it," Neal said. "Diego Athanasiou is renowned for his Greek inspiration in honor of his family heritage, so this looks like his work. But, when he completes one of his masterpieces, he always ensures it will stand the test of time as best as he can so he has invested in UV ray protection to prevent 'any brilliance from fading' which means this wasn't treated by him. Then combine that with the name on the bottom, and I am sure of it."

"What is wrong with the name on the bottom?" One of the family members asked.

Flipping the vase over so they could all see, Neal showed them what he meant. "If you look closely, you can see extra broad points where the brush stroke wasn't as smooth. Whoever did this, they had to pause and check their spelling."

Looking rather downcast, June was just as certain the vase was forged. The question was, when was it forged? Did she purchase a forgery? But Byron had been so sure he was working with a reputable dealer and had inspected it himself. Was it stolen sometime after being placed in their home? If so, when had it been done and by whom? Her staff had been with her for years so they were well trusted. With a sinking heart, she felt herself wondering if perhaps Neal had done it. She didn't want to believe it as he had been such a friend to her, but it was either him or a trusted staff member she had known for years longer…

Neal had turned his attention to documenting the situation in the hopes of solving the case quickly. "Do you have any pictures from when you first purchased it?"

Focusing back onto her surroundings, June tried to place whether she had one or not. "I do believe we had to take one for insurance. Are you looking to see if it was a fake from the beginning? Byron was so sure we had an original, how could we have ended up with a forgery?" She voiced some of what she had been thinking.

Soothing her, Neal explained. "This was done fairly well. The vase itself looks like the original, the hesitation could have been missed if the lighting didn't show it, and the fading detail was what brought the forgery to attention. Byron had a good eye from what you have said and this would have been a large purchase, so I doubt he missed the signature flaw. That means it was probably stolen at some point since it has been in your household, but I would keep the possibility that he might have missed it just in case. It never hurts to have all of your bases covered."

"Why do we need the picture then?" June's daughter asked. She seemed to be looking at Neal suspiciously, just like the rest of the family.

"The picture can be magnified and studied to see if the original purchase and the one that you have are exactly identical. If there was also a picture of the signature taken, it will be an easier means of verifying if you still have the same one." Neal explained the purpose and direction the investigation would take.

"Is there any other way to investigate?" Cindy pushed further. She was an art student herself and knew older pictures weren't as reliable as modern pictures when it came to pixels and the visibility of details.

Appreciating her thoroughness, Neal continued to explain the details. "Yes, there is the fading itself. By taking paint samples from both sides, they can be compared to see how much the one side differs from the other. Then the white from the side that has been exposed to the light can also be compared to the white on the bottom edge that has not been exposed. Although it's only a rough means, it can be estimated how long the vase has been sitting in the window and likely how long it has been since the original was stolen."

Continuing to take notes as he jotted down the details of their comments and his observations, Neal noticed one more problem.

"Another thing, these gold colors in the background are not quite right. They are really close, but Athanasiou generally uses a more vibrant yellow for the smaller details to make them pop better, and less orange to the primary details as he prefers yellow over orange in color. Whoever did this, they either don't have a good eye for color, or enough knowledge to know how important it was for the artist to personalize his work by using his favorite shades of colors. Knowing the artist is a key element to a forgery, so another note about the suspect is that they are someone with a good eye for talent, but a lack of detailed knowledge."

Having completed a preliminary investigation of his own as far as he could go with the naked eye and information off the top of his head, he figured it was time to take things to the next step. "I should go finish getting dressed, but I'll text Peter to come in when he gets here instead of waiting for me outside. He'll be interested to know what is going on and can help you start an official investigation as I am assuming you don't want my help any further. In the meanwhile though, it's a good idea to contact your insurance provider, because the sooner they are involved, the smoother it will all go." Neal had noticed the growing suspicion on the faces of everyone in the room. It was obvious he was becoming another prime suspect in a crime he hadn't committed.

Sighing to himself, he ignored the looks and moved to head back upstairs with his notes in hand.

Reaching the loft, he grabbed his phone and texted Peter as promised. With that finished, he moved to scan his notes into his computer in between getting ready for the day. He was going to be the prime suspect, so he might as well keep as many details for his own investigation as possible.

After he had finished his routine, he went back downstairs to see if Peter had arrived yet.

Reaching the main floor again, he found the man deep in conversation with June, so he approached to see if his observations were wanted or not.

"I scanned my notes into my computer so I don't need them anymore." He said as he passed them to the stern agent. "Do you want me to walk you through how I came to those conclusions?"

"No Caffrey, June has already given me the details you mentioned." Peter brushed him off and created a distance in a single sentence.

"Why don't you go and get your breakfast, Peter has the situation here handled." June also dismissed him.

Seeing that his presence was unwanted, Neal followed their directions and returned to the loft to prepare himself a quick meal. He was obviously not invited to partake in the family meal downstairs, so it was a simple affair by himself.

Taking refuge on the balcony again, he figured he might as well take whatever respite he could to start the day as it was going to be another long and uncomfortable one.

Once he had finished his meal, he returned to the kitchenette to clean up.

When he was drying the last of the dishes, he heard the sound of someone approaching up the stairs. Apparently, Peter was done downstairs and was coming to get him for work.

"Come in, I'm just putting the last dishes away," he called before Peter could knock.

Peter opened the door to verify what Neal said was true. While he waited for him to finish and grab his things, he ordered. "Hurry up; we should be at the office by now."

Knowing he was even lower in his friend's esteem, Neal didn't even bother trying to plead his innocence. What was the use without evidence to back it up?

Walking down the stairs was a quiet affair so it didn't take long for the men to reach the main level, walk out the door, and reach the car.

Taking off down the street, Peter had his fury radiating off of him in waves. Eventually, he voiced his accusation. "How could you Neal? June took you in and gave you everything. Because of her, you have your fancy loft and Rat Pack wardrobe, but that just wasn't enough, was it?" He seethed.

Ignoring the statements, Neal continued to stare out the window instead.

Irritated at being ignored, Peter hit the brakes harder than necessary for a stop light to jerk Neal forwards. "What? No pleas for your innocence? I know you aren't going to be honest, but you aren't even trying." Thinking better of it, he continued. "Which is probably a good thing though; because if I heard you make one excuse right now I wouldn't drive you to the office, but rather straight to jail."

There it was again. Neal wasn't even looking at Peter. He had already seen the furious hurt look in his closest friend's eyes a few too many times, and he didn't want the burden of another round.

"Look at me, Neal!" Peter ordered. He didn't like Neal's continued stare out the window at the traffic like he could ignore the situation if he just looked the other way.

Turning calmly, Neal kept his own hurt at Peter's mistrust and obvious fury to himself. Instead, he was back to wearing a mask, their friendship was over.

"Why aren't you saying, or doing anything? At least you had comments to make in the case of the treasure." Peter spat out the words.

"I also plead my innocence in the case of the diamond necklace, but no one would listen until I had proof the FBI was framing me, and you still won't trust me in the case of the treasure despite being one of the key witnesses that I had nothing to do with whatever happened. Consider them lessons learned." The words were kind of mean and seemed rather like punches to remind Peter of his past mistake in comparison with the same situation happening again, but Neal couldn't refrain from taking the only chance he had. If Peter ignored it, then their friendship might never be repaired.

Surprised, Peter hadn't even thought about the earlier case. The reminder that he had followed the 'evidence' before in the wrong direction soothed some of his fury. Although Neal was still his prime suspect in both crimes, maybe he should cut back on the accusations a little bit… just in case.

Breathing out in a huffed snort, he stopped berating Neal and chose to regain control of his temper for the remainder of the drive.

Feeling his shoulders relax a little, Neal could see that Peter had understood his reminder. He was still the prime suspect, but at least Peter was being a little less aggressive with him.

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